


How to Persuade Your Boyfriend to Agree to Get a Pet

by randomwriter57



Series: Reigisa Week 2018 [6]
Category: Free!
Genre: Animals, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, M/M, Pets, Reigisa Week, there's a focus on dogs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-03-06 22:35:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13421049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomwriter57/pseuds/randomwriter57
Summary: Nagisa has been dropping hints that he wants a pet.





	How to Persuade Your Boyfriend to Agree to Get a Pet

**Author's Note:**

> When I saw the prompt for today, I immediately thought: domestic fluff about them getting a pet. And for whatever reason, I approached it with inspiration from [a meme](http://i0.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/021/092/im_dropping_hints.jpg). Somehow it actually turned into a thing with plot. Who would have guessed.  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one too!
> 
> Written for [Reigisa Week 2018](http://reigisaweek.tumblr.com), Day Six: Animals

Nagisa has been dropping hints that he wants a pet.

“Rei-chan,” he says, leaning his head against Rei’s shoulder. “Can we get a pet?”

“No,” Rei answers tiredly, dropping his head on top of Nagisa’s.

The conversation goes the same way every time, no matter how Nagisa phrases it. Honestly, Nagisa doesn’t know why Rei is so against the idea. They’ve been in a relationship for long enough that they know they’re not splitting up any time soon, especially since they’ve only just moved into their new flat where the landlord just so happens to allow pets of any size.

(“Well, maybe not a horse,” the landlord had joked when he told them this, during their viewing of the flat. “But big dogs are fine!”)

Their flat is surprisingly spacious, and Nagisa already knows where he would put a dog’s bed: in the living room, near the radiator where it’s warmest, not too far from the sofa and the door leading to their bedroom. Of course, if the dog would rather sleep on the sofa or the bed, Nagisa would be happy to make room, though he’s not sure Rei would be too fond of the idea.

If Rei would rather have a cat, Nagisa would be pleased enough with that too. Cats are easier to look after, since their require less constant attention, but they do make a mess. He can only imagine Rei’s rage if he came in after work one day to find the wallpaper shredded to pieces. “There goes our deposit,” he would say after calming down. “All thanks to the cat’s claws.”

Something smaller might be safer; a hamster, or a rabbit, or fish, like the ones Makoto has from years ago which have somehow stayed alive far longer than they expected them to. Maybe he should ask Momo for tips on keeping stag beetles.

Still, no matter what, his heart goes back to the idea of having their very own dog. It would be a small or medium breed, to make life easier for both of them. An easy-to-train dog would be nice, too - a labrador or a spaniel, something which wouldn’t be too much trouble but would still be playful at times. Perhaps its his own childhood memories which make him so fond of the idea of having another dog; his old family dog Dick, and the stray which Haru found in his first year of middle school, Makkou, were both highlights of his childhood.

One day he tells Rei about those dogs, remembering that he wasn’t around during those times. Rei listens as well as he always does, engaging with nods of his head and hums of attention. Once the conversation passes, Rei speaks.

“We can’t get a dog, though.”

Nagisa sighs. Well, at least he tried.

 

* * *

 

On one of his rare days off where he doesn’t have work to do at home, Nagisa spends the day on his computer, playing The Sims. He’s had his copy of the game for years, so the graphics are outdated and every so often the game will crash without warning. Still, he loves it to pieces.

He starts a new household, creating Sims of himself and Rei, living together in a beautiful house constructed and decorated by Nagisa. (No, he totally didn’t use the ‘motherlode’ cheat to get the money, he would never do something like that…) Once the humans and their home are created, he adds a new character to their family - a small white dog, which he creatively names Iwa-chan, in memory of their high school roots. By the time Rei comes home, the Sim humans have been playing with their new pet for five in-game days, and it’s already fully trained. In their real-life kitchen, food sits out on the counter, half-prepared.

Rei kisses the top of Nagisa’s hair as he passes. “Thanks for starting dinner.”

“No problem!” Nagisa leans his head back so he can see his boyfriend, grinning at the sight of him. “I’ll finish making it now. And welcome home.”

Smiling gently, Rei brushes his thumb against Nagisa’s cheek. Nagisa closes his eyes at the warm touch.

“What are you doing?” Rei asks after a long moment of silence, his hand falling to Nagisa’s shoulder.

Nagisa moves his head to look at the computer, where his Sims are walking their dog in the park. “I made us in The Sims!”

Rei’s mouth forms an ‘o’ shape, and he watches as the little white dog runs back to its owners from where it had been sniffing a nearby plant. “And you gave us a dog?”

“Yeah! Y’know, since you said we can’t have one in real life.”

Part of him hopes desperately that Rei will feel a hint of pity, change his mind and tell Nagisa that actually, they can get a dog, that would be a wonderful idea. Except his lovely, caring boyfriend only kisses his cheek, warm and slow and sad.

“I’m sorry, Nagisa-kun,” he says. “You know it’s for the best, right?”

Nagisa nods, and they drop the subject. He tries not to let his sadness leak into their food as he finishes cooking it.

 

* * *

 

Sometimes, Nagisa finds himself searching for images of dogs and just browsing through them for hours on end, checking the tags on every social media to see people’s latest portrayals of their four-legged companions. It somewhat staves his own longing for a pet, to live vicariously through the pictures of pugs falling off pillows and videos of huskies howling along to their human’s voice.

A few weeks after the Sims episode, Nagisa phones Haru.

“Whatever happened to Makkou?” he asks.

“I’m not sure,” Haru responds, his monotone voice barely betraying a hint of sadness. “He went out one day and didn’t come back.”

Nagisa supposes it was bound to happen - there wasn’t anything tying the stray to the homemade dog-house in Haru’s garden. Still, it breaks his heart a little to hear it.

Haru sends him the few pictures of Makkou which were taken when he was still around, and Nagisa tears up as he flicks through them, his smile wobbling with long-late grief. When Rei comes home, he shows them to him without any hidden intentions, telling him stories of their swim-club adventures as best he can. Rei doesn’t seem to suspect anything either - he only winds an arm around Nagisa’s waist, pulling him in to his chest as a final tear slips out as they reach the bottom of the pile once more.

“I have the day off tomorrow,” Rei says after a little while, his thumb drawing circles on Nagisa’s hip. “But I’m going to go for groceries. I can pick you up from work, if you like.”

Tilting his chin upward, Nagisa presses a sweet kiss to Rei’s lips. “Thanks, Rei-chan. You’re the best.”

 

* * *

 

When Rei picks Nagisa up from work, the back seat of their car is lined with shopping bags. He doesn’t get much of a chance to look at them, though, since Rei regains his attention by speaking.

“So, how was your day?”

They spend a while chatting about how Nagisa’s second year history class is struggling with their grades, how he’s a little worried that some of them might fail the upcoming midterm. Sure, the kids are only in middle-school, but Nagisa doesn’t want them to feel the same stress and unhappiness which plagued him in that time of his life. They talk about that one kid who acts very much like Rin, bold and brash and insufferable but charming all the same. Nagisa is in the middle of telling Rei about how, just that day, he found out that that boy swims too, when he realises that Rei is not driving in the direction of their flat.

“Where are we going?” he asks, cutting himself off in the middle of his story.

Rei doesn’t miss a beat. “Oh, I forgot to pick something up, earlier. So he swims, too? That’s great.”

(But Rei never forgets things when he’s shopping; he makes lists as tall as Mt Fuji detailing every little thing he needs to buy, and does it in the most logical order possible. It’s because of his insistence on using a list that the two of them rarely buy groceries together, since Nagisa is the type to throw everything into the cart, regardless of whether they need it or not.)

Still, only a tad suspicious, Nagisa continues his story where he left off.

Ten minutes pass until they reach the outskirts of the town, where the houses are sparse and green fields line the sunset horizon. Each house is more a cottage, with colourful flower gardens and swing-sets for the children. Rei parks in the driveway of one such house, and Nagisa racks his memory to see if he has any recollection of who it might belong to.

Nope, he has no idea.

“We’re here,” Rei says, getting out of the car. He walks over to Nagisa’s side and opens the door for him, taking his hand once he gets out and leading him towards the door.

“Where is here?” Nagisa asks.

Rei only smiles before knocking upon the door.

The distant sound of barking reaches Nagisa’s ears, and he freezes.

When he turns to Rei, the smile he wears is enough to confirm it.

“Rei-chan, I love you!” Nagisa cries as he throws his arms around his boyfriend, squeezing him tightly. “I can’t believe this, you’re the best boyfriend ever! Thank you!”

“You’re welcome,” Rei says, patting his back. “Now come on, we need to choose one.”

They separate to find the lady who owns the house smiling warmly at them, welcoming them inside, to where the sounds of eager barking and paws scrabbling across carpets are like the sweetest music. Nagisa takes a breath in, and grins.

Somehow, despite every odd being against him, his hinting worked. They are getting a pet.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me at [randomactuallywrites-57](http://randomactuallywrites-57.tumblr.com) on tumblr | [@randomwriter57](http://twitter.com/randomwriter57) on twitter!


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